1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heating and ventilating systems, and particularly to a modular burner/blower system and method directed to an independently operable direct fired burner unit and an independently operable blower unit that are also configured to be interconnected to one another and to operate together.
2. Description of the Related Art
Spray booths, factories, plants, restaurants and other buildings in which work takes place that may contaminate the air with fumes, dirt, odors or solvents need exhaust systems to pump out the contaminated air. Unless an air make-up system is installed, the exhaust system alone will lower the air pressure in the structure. The resulting negative pressure carries a number of undesirable consequences, such as difficulty in opening doors, slamming doors shut, and drawing in dust and debris from outside the building as air rushes in through an open window or door, a particularly troubling effect in a painting or food-related environment.
An air make-up system is needed to blow in air (often filtered) from outside to stabilize the pressure inside in order to avoid these problems. However, an air make-up system introduces a new problem. At various times during the year the air from outside the building will offset the desired temperature of the air inside. In order to prevent this from happening, most air make-up systems include a built in heater to warm the air entering from outside the building during the cold winter months. Many include an air cooling system for the summer months as well.
These measures maintain comfortable temperatures inside, but the cost of the system increases anywhere from four to seven fold with the inclusion of a heating unit alone. In addition, many of the available heating systems use indirect fired heaters, or heat exchange systems to heat the air instead of the more efficient direct fired method. There is a need for a modular set of independently operable direct fired burner units and independently operable blower units which may be purchased on a unit-by-unit basis as the customer can afford to do so, but in which the units are designed to operate together, facilitating easy installation when future units are purchased.
The related art is represented by the following references of interest.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0084896 A1, published May 8, 2003 for Laurent Gierula et al. describes a multi-stage gas fired heat exchanger system with one or more heat transfer tubes. U.S. Pat. No. 2,464,473, issued Mar. 15, 1949 to John H. Wessel, describes a blower installation where a blower assembly is mounted on suitable track means including tracks which support the blower assembly in a positive manner while permitting ready installation and removal thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,660, issued Jul. 9, 1957 to Elwin E. Flynn, describes a mounting mechanism for a blower.
Additional related art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,762, issued Dec. 12, 1961 to John W. Norris, that describes modular units for air heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,924, issued Sep. 17, 1963 to Robert D. Porter, describes methods of installing floor furnaces and also to furnaces constructed to enable them to be readily assembled. U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,706, issued Jul. 14, 1964 to Leo Block et al., describes a horizontal air furnace that may readily lend itself to different attic arrangements and thus be capable of installation in crawl spaces in order to accomplish servicing of the unit.
Additional related art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,376, issued Dec. 19, 1978 to Robert J. Dietsche, that describes a fan mounting arrangement of the type in which slide rails on the fan housing are received in sliding relation by track means underlying a base plate provided with-an opening to register with the discharge opening of the fan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,671, issued Apr. 17, 1979 to Bunyan B. Cagle, describes a solid fuel furnace including a firebox disposed inside of a heating chamber through which air to be heated is passed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,817, issued Mar. 3, 1987 to Dirk Van Ee, describes the structure and construction of a frame and panels for an air to air heat exchanger.
Additional related art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,036, issued Jan. 11, 1994 to John J. Dieckmann, that describes a modular air conditioning system with adjustable capacity that includes a cooling module, a heating module, and a blower module, and can be assembled in any of a plurality of configurations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,106, issued Dec. 6, 1994 to Scott A. Beck et al., describes a furnace of the type having a blower shelf with a blower attached to one surface and a heat exchanger unit located proximate a second surface thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,199, issued May 23, 1995 to Donald R. Jamieson et al., describes a combustion furnace which is convertible in the filed for upflow or downflow operaton.
Additional related art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,263, issued Aug. 1, 1995 to Jeffrey R. Ellingham et al., that describes an upflow/downflow high efficiency furnace with means for mounting a secondary heat exchanger by use of a hinge member. U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,329 B1, issued Nov. 5, 2002 to Merle D. Sears et al., describes a one piece cell panel for a forced air furnace which is designed for ease of removal without the necessity of having to dismantle the furnace cabinet. Germany Patent Application Publication No. DE 33 03 125 A1, published Aug. 2, 1984, describes an air/water heat pump suitable for interior and exterior placement.
None of the above references, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a modular burner/blower system and method solving the aforementioned problems is desired.